It’s cold out there, too cold for living outdoors or in uninhabitable buildings without heat, but many do.

The Holland Rescue Mission always has an open door, but when the weather turns especially cold, the nonprofit won’t turn anyone away.

“Any time the weather is below 40 degrees, we have a policy that basically says ‘don’t refuse anyone,’” Executive Director Darryl Bartlett said.

In the past week, the Holland Rescue Mission has been housing about 170 people between its men’s shelter and women/children/families shelter — up from the usual 140 to 150.

They’ll put mattresses on the floor and fill every spare space in the buildings with cots and mattresses to make room for extra people who need to get off the streets and out of the cold.

“When the cold spikes really quick, we’ll see an influx of people who have been trying to live in uninhabitable place,” Bartlett said. Often those people will decide to stay and receive help from the mission even after the weather warms up.

Bartlett cautions people to not try to help someone live in dangerous conditions such as outside or buildings without heat by giving them blankets. That just encourages them to stay in unsafe conditions, he said.

Many people still have to walk to appointments or job interviews, so the Mission is asking for hand warmers and warm outerwear.

Mission staff go to known homeless camps, talk to people, try to get them to come in. They encourage others to bring those in need of shelter to the mission, too. The men’s shelter is at 166 S. River Ave.; the women/children/family shelter is at 356 Fairbanks Ave.

The Holland Rescue Mission is the only homeless shelter in Ottawa County (aside from those for women escaping domestic violence).

“We’re here to help,” Bartlett said. “We want to help in a compassionate way and we’re going to help a person to the point, hopefully, where they don’t have to be homeless any longer, can take steps to move forward.”